Doll&#39;s eyes



L. H. MESSINGER, JR

Dec. 22, '1925 DOLL S EYES Filed July 29, 1924 2 SheeLS-Sheet l IN VENTUR [laffe Hvmzummv J2 vi e Patented Dec. 22, 1925.

LESTER HUBERT MESSINGEB, JR., OE BBIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT. 4

- noLLs rives.

Animation mean-1y 29, 1,924. serrer No. 725,964.

al@ whom it may concern:

V Be it known thatI, LESTER HUBERT Mnssinenn, J r., ay citizen of theUnited States, and a resident of Bridgeport, in the county of Fairfieldand Stateof Connecticut, have invented new andA useful Improvements inDolls Eyes, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription.

This invention relates to dolls eyes and more speciiically to mountingfor dolls eyes, an object of the invention being to provide a mountingwhich is self-sustaining within the head of the doll, which properlysupports the eyes, allowing them to move. and which dispenses entirelywith the necessity of pla-ster of Paris or other material used as anadhesive or mounting for the ey'es or their connected parts.

A further object is to provide a mounting of the character stated whichmay be effectually employed in properly positioning the eyes in thevhead of the doll after such eyes have Ibeen disconnected from ordinarymountngs.

further object is to provide an eye 'mounting which may be made eitherof cheap metal or wire, which can be easily and quickly installed, whichwilleifectually hold the eyes in operative position, and which willovercome the greatannoyanceof broken or disconnected eyes, due tohandling or shipping, which is so common in the trade.

lith these and other objects in view, the invention consists of certainnovel features of construction and combinations and arrangements ofparts which will be more 'fully hereinafter described and pointed out inthe claim. e

In the accompanying drawings- Figure 1 is a view in longitudinal sectionthrough the center of a dolls head illustrating one form of my improvedmounting in operative position there-in;

Figure 2 is a view in transverse section on the line 2 2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the eye supporting frame;

Figure 3a is a section taken on the line Btl- 3a of Figure 2;

Figures 4, 5 and 6 are views similar to Figures 1, 2 and 3, illustratinga modification of my invention;

Figure 6a is a section taken on the! line Git- 6ad of Figure 5. l

1 represse@ .e delle heed which 'is erf -dinarily hollow and which isformed with openings 2 through which the eyes 3 project or may beobserved. rIhe head 1 is also formed with the face proiile so that thenose portion 4 constitutes a pronounced recess 5 in the inner face ofthe head.

The eyes 3, 3 in one well known type of doll are' connected by a4 bar or yoke (i so that the bar and the eyes constitute a single movable unit,and it is in connection with this type of eye unit that my invention isparticularly adapted.

As a mounting for the eyes I provide a frame 7, preferably of metal, andin the form illustrated in Figures l, 2 and 3 this frame is composed ofsheet metal` stamped or otherwise formed to give it the proper shape, aswill now be described.

The frame 7 is formed with a pair of openings 8, 8 through which theeyes 3 project, and at the ends of the frame rearwardly projecting ears9 are provided having outwardly formed sockets 10 therein to receive theside portions of the eyes 3 and function as bearings for the eyes topermit them the necessary movement but to prevent possibility ofdisplacement. It is obvious that resistance to this movement can becontrolled by bending the ears 9 so as to exert the desired frictionupon the eyes but in any event it is to be understood that the socketportions 10 receive a sufficient areay of the eyes to insure a properbearing.

The central portion 11 of the frame 7 is projected outwardly into thenose recess 5. While, of course, I do not wish to be limited to theprecise shape of this projected portion I prefer to form the same with asomewhat rounded contour at its lower end as indicated at 11 to engagethe nose recess at two points, namely, at the bottom of the recess andat the front of the recess. It will be observed that the frame 7 isadapted to lit the contour of the dolls face against the rear wallthereof at other points than around the nose, so that the frame isiirmly held in position. As shown in the figure above mentioned. theframe fits the curved portion around the eye opening.

Above this rounded portion I provide a notch or recess 12 to receive oneend of a brace 13. This brace 13 preferably constitutes a proper lengthof wire sufficiently resilient so that when one end is located in the'notch or recess 12 the other end will en- Ilfl gage the rear of the headand may be sufficiently bowed, as indicated in Fig. 2, to maintainpressure and also to allow for free movement of the parts.

At the top of the frame 7 I preferably provide a pair of upwardly andinwardly projecting tongues 14 which are engaged by the bar 6 and limitas well as cushion the up` ward movement of said bar. The bar G ispreferably and usually provided with a downwardly projecting rod 15carrying a weight 1G at'its lower end to hold the eyes in normalposition, and a stop or cushion 17 is fixed in the head to be engaged bythe weight 'ing loops 2O which function as bearings for tlie eyes 3 andis provided with upwardly projecting tongues 21 to limit the upwardmovement of the bar 6. Portions of the wire are also bent as shown at 22to project into thejnose cavity 5, and an eye or eyes 23 are formed onthe intermediate portion of the ywire frame to receive one endQs of abrace 25 corresponding to the brace 13 of the preferred form. In thiswire frame it will also be noted, .in accordance with Figure 6a, thatthe wire frame is adapted to bear againstl the rear surfacev of thedolls face adjacent the eye openings so as to hold the frame in properposition.

In both forms of my invention it will be noted that I provide a metalmounting for the eyes which is self-sustaining within the head and whichis maintained in the head because of its shapein that it engages in thenose recess of the profile and in that it is maintained in such forwardposition by such suitable brace so that the parts areniore or less rigidand are not liable to get out of repair. Furthermore, a structure suchas above explained is especially adapted for repair work as standardeyes can be placed in the head iii my improved mounting after they havebecome disconnected from the ordinary inountings in general use.

Various slight changes and alterations might be made in the generalforni of the parts described without departing from my invention, andhence I do not limit myself to the precise details set forth butconsider myself at liberty to make such slight changes and alterationsas fairly fall within the spirit and scope of tlie appended claim. n

I claim:

A mounting for dolls eyes, comprising a frame, rearwardly projectingbearings at the ends of the frame adapted to receive the side portionsof a dolls eyes, a forwardly projecting section at the intermediateportion of the frame and adapted to project into the nose recess of thedolls head and Iit the inner face ofthe head, upwardly and rearwardlyprojecting tongues on the frame adapted to limit the movement of theeyes in one direction, and a brace connecting the frame with the back ofthe dolls head.

LESTER HUBERT MESSINGER, Jn.

